Monument to the past

I visit Citadella three times already. From the top of the Citadel, there is a best panoramic view over the city, over the Danube and its eight bridges.

It is a huge complex. It offers two specific "side" of Hungarian history. First is a wide fortress and second is a huge Socialistic monument - Statue of Liberty (Szabadsag szobor). It is a surprise to see all that in middle Europe even if you know Hungarian history. Both are very powerful monuments. Grab your camera and enjoy it!

GELLERT HILL

Gellert Hill, near the Elizabeth Bridge, is some-where I hoped to return to. Unfortunately, as in many big cities, there is too much to see in the allotted time, so I missed out.

Gellért Hill is approx 140 metres high, and gets it name from Bishop Gellért Sagredo, known for spreading the word of Christianity throughout Hungary.

There is a legend to this Hill, that goes something like this......After the first Christian king of Hungary died, rebelling insurgent pagan Magyars, sealed Bishop Gellért up in a barrel and hurled him down the side of the hill to his death. True or False?

It is a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of "the Banks of the Danube".Gellert hill rises above the Danube River, so if your at the top, you should have a good view over Budapest city. There was once a Citadel, built by the Austrian Habsburgs between 1850 and 1854. Originally, the fortress had walls about 200 meters long with walls about 6 meters high and up to 3 meters thick! When the Habsburgs left, they tore down parts of the walls as a symbol of victory against the Austrians, how-ever the Citadel was used again to house Hungarian soldiers. In WWII, it was from the Citadel that a German SS regiment held the city at bay. Today, it's a Hotel.

Liberty monument is on top of Gellert Hill, erected here in 1947 in recognition of Soviet soldiers who liberated the city from the Nazis during World War II. The Soviet soldier is not there now, as after the fall of Communism, it was moved to Memento Park on the outskirts of the city. Now stands a 14 metre high statue of a palm-bearing female.

There is even a Cave church, founded in 1926. It was used by the Pauline order until 1951, when the church was closed by the Communists. It is open once again, and the statue of St. Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary stands by the entrance.

Near Elisabeth Bridge, is the impressive large bronze statue of Bishop Gellert, the martyr after whom the hill was named. The monument was built in 1904 at the site where Gellert was presumably killed in the 11th century.

In January 2007, a new cave was discovered under Gellért Hill. during a private construction. It's 60 m long and 18 m deep and has three rooms where white crystals composed of gypsum, calcite, and aragonite have formed. The cave was created 300,000–500,000 years ago by a thermal spring.

If you come to the parkland at night time, you may see Bats and Hedgehogs.

You can climb the Gellért Hill starting at the Elisabeth Bridge near the Gellért Monument, or you can take the (steeper) route starting at the Gellért Hotel. If you have walking problems, take a bus or taxi.

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Gellert hill.

Gellért Hill or Gellért-hegy is a small hill on the west side of the Danube river bank that we can see some of the best panoramic views of Budapest. With the hight of 235 meter, we can see the structure of the city and the difference between the hilly Buda side and the flat Pest side, with the Danube dividing the two..There are large caves found in the hillside , so the hill’s former name was “Pest” or “Pesti-hegy” or in Latin ”Mons Pestiensis” or “cave” in english.Hungarian language didn't have a word for cave, so they borrowed the Slavic word " pest " from the people who lived here. In the 18th century, the slopes of Gellért Hill were covered with vineyards. The Tabán district at the foot of the hill was an important center of winemaking in Buda. Gellért Hill was a strategic military position in the Second World War as well as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, when Soviet tanks bombarded the city from here.Now Gellert hill is a wealthy residential area,embassies and ambassadorial residences line the streets which wind up the hill. Since 1987, the area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of "the Banks of the Danube".A large proportion of the hill consists of parkland and playground for children,as you can see from picture 5 …wisely using benefit of hill slope to place the plaything.On the 4th picture ,you'll see Szabadsag hid or Liberty bridge which was built between 1894-1896 with the lenght of 333 meter and 20 m. wide.The best way to enjoy the city views from different heights of this hill is to walk up on the steps and sloping pathways.The scenery is worth walking. You will find these ways up right at the end of Elizabeth bridge and the other side of the foothill opposite to Gellert bath.Or take bus 27 from Móritz Zsigmond körtér to the top of the hill.

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Central Buda: Gellert Hill

Gellert Hill can be seen from all over the city, and offers the best views in the city, and easily some views you'll see anywhere in the world. Although you get great views through the trees and from various landmarks dotted around the park on your walk up, the views from the citadella on top are the most outstanding.

The hill is named after St. Gerard, who, according to legend, was killed by pagans after being rolled down the side of the hill in a barrel. Later the hill became home to another famous Christian, St. Ivan, who lived as a hermit within Gellert cave, offering healing to the faithful through the hill's hot mineral spring water.

There's some residential buildings and embassies on the hill, and it used to be a massive vineyard, but today it's mostly parkland, with bats and other creatures more commonly seen further out in the countryside. I swear I saw a snake. I took a picture of its tail after it slid under a large branch, but I've yet to identify it...

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Gellért Hill

Stunning view over the city covered by a landscape park topped by Liberty Statue and the CitadelThe Citadel occupies the top of the hill, the Statue of Liberty in front of the Citadel is one of the few remaining Soviet monuments. It commemorates the liberation of Hungary from the Nazis

Start climbing the hill from Gellert square follow one of the many walking paths up the hill,enjoy the stunning view of the city that changes with each turn along the way. Stop at the many viewing platforms and relax on the benchesOn the top of the hill take a look at the statue of liberty and walk around the citadel walk down from the hill on the other side

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Citadella for best views of Budapest

Citadella is the Hungarian word for fortress, and in Budapest it is located at the top of the Gellért Hill. I think I just walked up to it - I really don't remember because I was just walking around Budapest and stumbled upon, having read about it in guidebooks anyway. I think to be able to really fo on top of the fortress, I had to pay a little entrance fee (forgot how much it was) - but it was worth it because you could walk on the top of the walls and see the most excellent views of Budapest.

With the entrance fee, I also got a see a little exhibit on Hungarian history within the fortress (at the central courtyard), including a little military museum which i think showed the places where the Hunagrian military were during the war. It was like a cave and was very nostalgic of the war.

Built in 1851 by Julius Jacob von Haynau, the fortress occupies almost the entire 235 meters high plateau and it is U-shaped structure, being 220 meter long, 60 meters wide, and 4 meters tall.

At the top of the fortress there was a wide ledge on which I took great photoc and even a video here on VT - but then I almost lost my camera when I tried to balance it on my waterbottle since I forgot my tripod --- oops (dumbo, hehehe)...thank God I caught my camera in time (unlike my other camera which eventually fell into the Grand canyon at one time, heheh-- I should be more careful).

Gellert Monument

You can see this monument especially well at night when it is nicely lit. I took an early morning walk across the Elizabeth Bridge and walked up the hill a bit.

The Monument was erected in 1904 at the place where St. Gerard met his death. Gellert was an abbot from Venice on his way to the Holy Land (11th century) when he stopped in Hungary. He was asked by King Stephen to tutor his son Imre and help to convert the pagan Magyars.

The legend has it that Gellert was captured by the pagans and placed in a barrel with nails, which was then rolled down what is today Gellert Hill.

Lovely views of Budapest from here.

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Gellert Monument

Gellert Monument (Szt Gellιrt Szobor) was erected in 1904 on the spot that bishop Gellert Sagredo supposed to be murdered by people of prince Vata (brother of King Stephen I) that put him in a barrel and hurled him down the hill! He became popular as the one that spread Christianity all over Hungary and became a martyr.

The monument was designed by Gyula Jankovits, you can see a large bronze statue of Gellert rising a cross with his right hand, the colonnade at the back and a small man-made waterfall makes the monument look more impressive.

It can be seen from many spots in the city as it stands on Gellert Hill overlooking Elizabeth bridge, it also looks nice during the night when its litted (pic 3).

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Gellert Hill

Less popular than Castle Hill one morning we visited Gellert Hill and loved it as it offers some nice paths, great views over the city but also some monuments. It’s 140m high and named after bishop Gellert Sagredo that spread Christianity all over Hungary. He was a martyr that was hurled down the hill inside a barrel (ok maybe that’s just a legend) by people of prince Vata (brother of King Stephen I). According to other stories this was also a place where witches were practicing their weird ceremonies :)

We started from Gellert Hotel where a path goes up to the hill, we made a stop at Cave church and then walked up through the paths. It seems a bit confusing but have the big statue on pic 1 as a target and you’ll be fine :) On the way we saw girls doing sunbathing while they were reading books on the grass but there also some nice spots with view of the city (pic 2) and we kept walking up until we reached the big statue.

This is the Liberation Monument that was erected in 1947 for the soviet soldiers that liberated Budapest from the Nazis. There used to be a soviet soldier in front of the monument we see today but was moved to a park. From the small terrace in front of the monument you will have some extra shots over Budapest. Then we visited the Citadel(Citadella), a fortress with 3m thick walls (and 6meters high) that was built in 1854 after the Hungarian War of Independence but was partly destroyed when Habsburgs left Budapest in 1867. The citadel was built on the same spot where the ottoman had built a much smaller fortress. We took some pictures of the artillery outside(pic 4), in our days it houses a small museum, a café and a restaurant… while we were there 3 tour buses arrived so all the people of the souvenir stores got excited :) We took some extra photos from other view points (pic 5) and then followed the paths down the other side toward Gillert Monument.

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Gellert Hill

The Gellert Hill occupies a location that allows you to see the entire city of Budapest and the Danube. A long time ago, the Gellert Hill was central to the city's wine production. Later, this hill was actively used in World War II and the Hungarian Revolution. Today on Gellert Hill you can visit the citadel and military museum as well as the Liberty Statue, which stands for Soviet success in the second world war. Parks and houses of the wealthy surround the area, and near the citadel there are some very nice restaurants. Gellert Hill is a nice, romantic place to stroll on a summer evening (or any night that is not cloudy). You wouldn't think so, but clear, snowy winter nights are a great time to go because there are no crowds, it's very quiet, and you can see a beautiful lit-up view of the city (in the snow). It's a great place for photos and I definitely recommend a visit, so you can take in all of Budapest. :)

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Take in the View (Just Avoid Any Barrels!)

Climbing up from the end of the Erzsebet Bridge will leave you winded, but with scenic views of Pest. You'll also have the chance to get up close and personal with a statue of St. Gellert (whom the hill is named after). Legend has it that the pagans were out to get Gellert, so they sealed him in a barrel and pushed him down this very hill. Perhaps the barrel rolled all the way across the river to the Inner City Church, where his remains remain today? Gellert is backed by a colonnade with a waterfall flowing beneath him. This park is best visited during daylight hours!

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Gellert hill

Gellert hill proves that Budapest is on the hilly area and this city has great panoramic views. This place named St. Gellert hill for commemorating the death of this Saint man. In 1046 he was martyred and rolled down the hill in a barrel.

There are a few famous places on Gellert hill: The Liberation monument, St. Gellert's Memorial and Citadella.

Gellert Hill Citadel

We, of course, were taken on our cruise tour to the top of Gellert Hill for a view in the drizzling rain, and the had a great tall figure advertising the Show up the hill at the Citadel---they must have a circus show of a kind going on now, but we went no further than the view over the Danube and the city below. My son has done some stiltwalking so I took the pic.....

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Statue of Liberty

At the top of Gellert Hill, in front of the Citadella stands this impressive statue, Szabadság szobor, or Liberation Monument which was erected in 1947 to commemorate Hungary's liberation from the Nazis. Originally, a representation of a Soviet soldier stood below the main statue, but this was removed to Statue Park after the fall of Communism.

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